Technology for assessing emotional state of vehicle operator

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for analyzing sensor data to determine an inferred emotional state of a vehicle operator and generate a recommendation based on the inferred emotional state are disclosed. According to embodiments, an electronic device may analyze image data depicting a vehicle operator to identify a behavior. The electronic device may also compare vehicle dynamics data to baseline vehicle dynamics data to determine if the vehicle dynamics data differs from the baseline vehicle dynamics data by a threshold amount. Based on the identified behavior and the vehicle dynamics data, the electronic device may determine an inferred emotional state of the vehicle operator. The electronic device may generate a recommendation for the vehicle operator based on the inferred emotional state.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/713,576, which is entitled “TECHNOLOGY FOR ASSESSING EMOTIONAL STATEOF VEHICLE OPERATOR,” which was filed Sep. 22, 2017, and which claimsthe benefit of provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 62/447,713, whichis entitled “TECHNOLOGY FOR ASSESSING EMOTIONAL STATE OF VEHICLEOPERATOR,” and which was filed on Jan. 18, 2017. The disclosure of bothof the aforementioned applications is hereby expressly incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to technology for assessing anemotional state of a vehicle operator. More particularly, the presentdisclosure is directed to systems and methods for analyzing sensor datato determine an inferred emotional state of a vehicle operator andgenerating a recommendation for the vehicle operator based on theinferred emotional state.

BACKGROUND

Individuals have been operating vehicles as a means of transportationfor decades. In particular, individuals may sometimes operate vehicleswhen they are in an emotional state which may impair operation or whenthey may otherwise modify their driving, such as if the individuals areupset or frustrated. This generally unsafe vehicle operation may lead toaccidents, injuries, or other negative effects.

Recently, vehicles have been equipped with certain computing componentsand devices. As vehicles incorporate more sensors, devices, andcommunication capabilities, it is increasingly easier to collect andanalyze image sensor data and vehicle dynamics data for variouspurposes. However, there are no existing solutions to effectively andefficiently leverage certain types of sensor data to identify emotionalstates of vehicle operators and reduce risks accordingly. Accordingly,there is an opportunity for technology to facilitate functionalities forthis purpose.

SUMMARY

A computer-implemented method in an electronic device for assessing anemotional state of a vehicle operator is provided. The method comprises:dynamically analyzing, by a processor, image data captured by one ormore image sensors located within the vehicle, the image data depictingthe operator of the vehicle, to identify a current behavior of theoperator; comparing, by the processor, vehicle dynamics data associatedwith operation of the vehicle to baseline vehicle dynamics data todetermine that the vehicle dynamics data differs from the baselinevehicle dynamics data; and in response to the comparing, determining,based on both the vehicle dynamics data and the identified currentbehavior of the operator, an inferred current emotional state of theoperator.

In another embodiment, an electronic device configured to assess anemotional state of an operator of a vehicle is provided. The electronicdevice may include a transceiver configured to communicate data via atleast one network connection, a memory configured to storenon-transitory computer executable instructions and a set of baselineimage data, and a processor configured to interface with the transceiverand memory, and to execute the non-transitory computer executableinstructions. The computer executable instructions may cause theprocessor to access image data depicting the operator of the vehicle,analyze the image data to: dynamically analyze image data captured byone or more image sensors located within the vehicle, the image datadepicting the operator of the vehicle, to identify a current behavior ofthe operator; compare vehicle dynamics data associated with operation ofthe vehicle to baseline vehicle dynamics data to determine that thevehicle dynamics data differs from the baseline vehicle dynamics data;and, in response to the comparing, determine, based on both the vehicledynamics data and the identified current behavior of the operator, aninferred current emotional state of the operator.

In still another embodiment, a tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing executable instructions for assessingan emotional state of an operator of a vehicle is provided. Theinstructions, when executed by at least one processor of a computingdevice, cause the computing device to: dynamically analyze image datacaptured by one or more image sensors located within the vehicle, theimage data depicting the operator of the vehicle, to identify a currentbehavior of the operator; compare vehicle dynamics data associated withoperation of the vehicle to baseline vehicle dynamics data to determinethat the vehicle dynamics data differs from the baseline vehicledynamics data; and, in response to the comparing, determine, based onboth the vehicle dynamics data and the identified current behavior ofthe operator, an inferred current emotional state of the operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIGS. 1A and 1B depict example environments within a vehicle includingvarious components configured to facilitate various functionalities, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 1C depicts an example environment including vehicles and variouscomponents configured to facilitate various functionalities, inaccordance with embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary signal diagram associated with assessing theemotional state of an operator of a vehicle, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B depict user interfaces associated with examplenotifications and visualizations, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary flow diagram associated with assessing theemotional state of an operator of a vehicle, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device, inaccordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, dynamically assessingthe emotional state of a vehicle operator. According to certain aspects,systems and methods may access image data that depicts a vehicleoperator, and may analyze the image data to identify the vehicleoperator as well as an operator behavior, such as a facial expressionmade by the vehicle operator or a movement made by the vehicle operator.The systems and methods may also access vehicle dynamics data andcompare it to baseline vehicle dynamics data. Based on the operatorbehavior and/or a difference between the vehicle dynamics data andbaseline vehicle dynamics data, the systems and methods may determine aninferred emotional state of the vehicle operator. Based on the inferredemotional state of the vehicle operator, the systems and methods maydetermine whether a vehicle operator is in an appropriate emotionalstate for operating a vehicle and/or may generate a recommendation tothe vehicle operator based on the identified inferred emotional state,where the recommendation may aim to mitigate any risks that may be posedby the inferred emotional state.

The systems and methods therefore offer numerous benefits. Inparticular, the systems and methods effectively and efficientlydetermine an emotional state of a vehicle operator and providerecommendations to the vehicle operator accordingly. Theserecommendations can help a vehicle operator to exercise caution orotherwise drive more safely. Thus, safety may be increased andoccurrences of accidents and collisions may be reduced. It should beappreciated that other benefits are envisioned.

The systems and methods discussed herein address a challenge that isparticular to vehicle operation. In particular, the challenge relates toreducing vehicular risks, especially instances in which vehicleoperators may have an increased state of agitation. An angry,frustrated, or upset vehicle operator, for instance, may not drive assafely as one in a “normal” emotional state. Using conventional methods,a vehicle operator would have to self-regulate their behavior, oftenwithout realizing that he/she is in an increased state of agitation orthat it may impact driving safety. The systems and methods offerimproved capabilities to solve these problems by dynamically accessingand analyzing image data and/or vehicle dynamics data to determine aninferred emotional state of a vehicle operator, and generate andcommunicate recommendations to the vehicle operator based on theinferred emotional state. Accordingly, vehicle operators may be remindedto exercise caution or otherwise drive more safely when in anemotionally charged state. Further, because the systems and methodsemploy the collection, analysis, and transmission of data associatedwith vehicles, the systems and methods are necessarily rooted incomputer technology in order to overcome the noted shortcomings thatspecifically arise in the realm of vehicle operation.

Similarly, the systems and methods provide improvements in a technicalfield, namely, vehicle data compiling. Instead of the systems andmethods merely being performed by hardware components using basicfunctions, the systems and methods employ complex steps that go beyondthe mere concept of simply retrieving and combining data using acomputer. In particular, the hardware components capture image data,analyze the image data to determine vehicle operator behaviors, collector accumulate vehicle dynamics data, determine vehicle operatoremotional states, and generate and display recommendations, among otherfunctionalities.

According to implementations, the systems and methods may support adynamic, real-time or near-real-time analysis of any captured, received,and/or detected data. In particular, the electronic device may receiveor capture image and vehicle dynamics data in real-time or nearreal-time, and may automatically and dynamically analyze the captureddata. The electronic device may also automatically and dynamicallygenerate and communicate relevant notifications in real-time ornear-real-time. In this regard, any individual who receives anotification is afforded the benefit of accurate and relevant data.

FIG. 1A illustrates an example depiction of an interior of a vehicle 100that may include various components associated with the systems andmethods. In some scenarios, an individual 102 may operate (i.e., drive)the vehicle 100. Although the individual 102 is depicted as sitting inthe driver's seat of the vehicle 100 and operating the vehicle 100, itshould be appreciated that the individual 102 may be a passenger of thevehicle, and may sit in a front passenger seat or any of a set of rearpassenger seats. In scenarios in which the individual 102 is a passengerof the vehicle 100, another individual may operate the vehicle 100.

As depicted in FIG. 1A, the interior of the vehicle 100 may support aset of image sensors 105, 106, 107. In the particular scenario depictedin FIG. 1A, each of the image sensors 105, 107 is located near a topcorner of the interior of the vehicle 100, and the image sensor 106 islocated below a rear view mirror. Although three (3) image sensors aredepicted in FIG. 1A, it should be appreciated that additional or fewerimage sensors are envisioned. Further, it should be appreciated that theimage sensors 105, 106, 107 may be disposed or located at variousalternate or additional portions of the vehicle 100, including on anexterior of the vehicle 100.

Each of the image sensors 105, 106, 107 may be configured to detect andconvey information that constitutes an image. In particular, each of theimage sensors 105, 106, 107 may generate digital image data according tothe detected information, where the digital image data may be in theform of image data and/or video data. Although not depicted in FIG. 1A,the vehicle 100 may also include one or more microphones that may bedisposed in one or more locations, where the microphones may beconfigured to capture audio data that may supplement the digital imagedata captured by the image sensors 105, 106, 107.

The vehicle 100 may also be configured with an electronic device 110configured with any combination of software and hardware components. Insome implementations, the electronic device 110 may be included as partof an on-board diagnostic (OBD) system or any other type of systemconfigured to be installed in the vehicle 100, such as an originalequipment manufacturer (OEM) system. The electronic device 110 mayinclude a set of sensors configured to detect and record various vehicledynamics data associated with the vehicle 100. In some implementations,the electronic device 110 may be configured to communicate with (i.e.,request, retrieve, or receive data from) a set of sensors disposed inother locations of the vehicle 100, such as each of the image sensors105, 106, 107. Further, in some implementations, the electronic device110 itself may be equipped with one or more image sensors.

According to embodiments, the set of sensors included in the electronicdevice 110 or otherwise configured to communicate with the electronicdevice 110 may be of various types. For example, the set of sensors mayinclude at least one of: a location module (e.g., a global positioningsystem (GPS) chip), image sensor, accelerometer, gyrosensor, forcesensor, strain gauge, inclinometer, goniometer, ignition sensor, clock,speedometer, torque sensor, throttle position sensor, gyroscope,compass, yaw rate sensor, tilt sensor, steering angle sensor, brakesensor, and/or other sensors.

FIG. 1B depicts another configuration of an interior of the vehicle 100that may include various components associated with the systems andmethods. Similar to the depiction of FIG. 1A, the depiction of FIG. 1Billustrates the individual 102 who may be an operator or passenger ofthe vehicle. The individual 102 may access and interface with anelectronic device 115 that may be located within the vehicle 100.Although FIG. 1B depicts the individual 102 holding the electronicdevice 115, it should be appreciated that the electronic device 115 maybe located within the vehicle 100 without the individual 102 contactingthe electronic device 115. For example, the electronic device 115 may besecured within a mount.

According to embodiments, the electronic device 115 may be any type ofelectronic device such as a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone). Itshould be appreciated that other types of electronic devices and/ormobile devices are envisioned, such as notebook computers, tablets,phablets, GPS (Global Positioning System) or GPS-enabled devices, smartwatches, smart glasses, smart bracelets, wearable electronics, PDAs(personal digital assistants), pagers, computing devices configured forwireless communication, and/or the like. The electronic device 115 maybe configured with at least one image sensor 120 configured to capturedigital image data, as discussed herein. The electronic device 115 mayfurther include additional sensors, such as a clock, accelerometer,location module (e.g., GPS chip), gyroscope, and/or other types ofsensors.

In some implementations, the electronic device 115 may be configured tointerface with additional components of the vehicle 100. In particular,the electronic device 115 may interface with the electronic device 110and sensors thereof, any of the image sensors 105, 106, 107, and/orother components of the vehicle 100, such as any additional sensors thatmay be disposed within the vehicle 100. Further, although not depictedin FIG. 1A or 1B, the vehicle 100 and/or each of the electronic devices110, 115 may be equipped with storage or memory capable of storingvarious data.

In operation, either of the electronic devices 110, 115 may beconfigured to receive or otherwise access image data captured by anycombination of the image sensors 105, 106, 107, 120. The electronicdevices 110, 115 may access user profile data that may be stored in thestorage or memory, and may compare the received image data to the userprofile data to identify the individual 102 who may be depicted in theimage data. Additionally or alternatively, the electronic devices 110,115 may analyze the image data to detect any movements made by theindividual 102 that may be depicted in the image data, as well asdetermine or ascertain a state of the individual 102. Further, theelectronic devices 110, 115 may further interface with the varioussensors or other components to assess real-time environmental parametersassociated with operation of the vehicle 100 (e.g., speed, location,route information, current time, current date).

FIG. 1C illustrates a system 150 that includes a set of vehicles 152,154. Although FIG. 1C depicts two (2) vehicles 152 and 154, it should beappreciated that fewer or additional vehicles are envisioned. Thevehicle 152 may be configured or equipped with a set of electronicdevices 156, 160, and the vehicle 154 may be configured or equipped witha set of electronic devices 158, 162. The electronic devices 156, 158,160, 162 may be integrated within the respective vehicles 152 and 154 ormay be separate from (but located within or in proximity to) therespective vehicles 152 and 154.

In some implementations, the electronic devices 160 and 162 may beincluded as part of an on-board diagnostic (OBD) system or any othertype of system configured to be installed in the respective vehicle 152and 154, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) system. Theelectronic devices 160 and 162 may include a set of vehicle dynamicssensors configured to detect and record various vehicle dynamics dataassociated with operation of the respective vehicles 152 and 154. Thevehicle dynamics sensors may include, but are not limited to, any of thefollowing: clock, accelerometer, location module (e.g., GPS chip),thermometer, seat heater sensor, gyroscope, compass, biometric, ignitionsensor, speedometer, torque sensor, throttle position sensor, and/orother sensors. In some embodiments, the vehicle dynamics sensors may beor may include vehicle telematics sensors. Generally, some of the set ofvehicle dynamics sensors may be configured to generate vehicle dynamicsdata (sometimes referred to as telematics data) associated withoperation of the vehicle, where the set of vehicle dynamics data mayindicate, e.g., speed, heading, acceleration data, braking data, turningdata, and/or other relevant vehicle dynamics or telematics parametersassociated with operation of the vehicle. In some implementations, theelectronic devices 160 and 162 may be configured to communicate with(i.e., request, retrieve, and/or receive data from) a set of sensorsdisposed in other locations of the respective vehicles 152 and 154.

Further, in some implementations, the electronic devices 156 and 158 maybe any type of electronic device such as a mobile device. For example,the electronic devices 156 and 158 may be smartphones associated withrespective operators of the respective vehicles 152 and 154. It shouldbe appreciated that other types of electronic devices and/or mobiledevices are envisioned, such as notebook computers, tablets, phablets,GPS (Global Positioning System) or GPS-enabled devices, smart watches,smart glasses, smart bracelets, wearable electronics, PDAs (personaldigital assistants), pagers, computing devices configured for wirelesscommunication, and/or the like. The electronic devices 156 and 158 maybe configured to communicate and interface with the respectiveelectronic devices 160 and 162. Further, although not depicted in FIG.1C, the vehicles 152 and 154 and/or each of the electronic devices 156,158, 160, 162 may be equipped with storage or memory capable of storingvarious data.

According to embodiments, the set of sensors included in any or all ofthe electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162 or otherwise configured tocommunicate with any or all of the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162may be of various types. For example, the set of sensors may include atleast one of: a location module (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS)chip), image sensor, accelerometer, gyrosensor, force sensor, straingauge, inclinometer, goniometer, ignition sensor, clock, speedometer,torque sensor, throttle position sensor, gyroscope, compass, yaw ratesensor, tilt sensor, steering angle sensor, brake sensor, and/or othersensors. The set of sensors may also be configured to detect variousconditions of the vehicle operators, including various biometricinformation, movements, and/or the like.

Each of the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162 may be configured tocommunicate with at least one remote server 166 via one or more networks164. It should be appreciated that various amounts of the remoteserver(s) 166 are envisioned. According to embodiments, the remoteserver(s) 166 may store data (i.e., may serve as a central repository)and/or exchange data with the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162. Forexample, the remote server 166 may store data or information associatedwith a set of locations, and may provide the data or information to theelectronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162. The remote server 166 may alsoinclude logic or processing capabilities that may instruct theelectronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162 to perform certain actions. Thenetwork(s) 164 may support any type of data communication via anystandard or technology (e.g., GSM, CDMA, TDMA, WCDMA, LTE, EDGE, OFDM,GPRS, EV-DO, UWB, Internet, IEEE 802 including Ethernet, WiMAX, Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, and others). The network(s) 164 may also be one or moreprivate or local networks or dedicated frequency bands. The network(s)164 may enable the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162 and the remoteserver(s) 166 to communicate among each other in real-time or near-realtime.

The remote server 166 may interface with a database 168 or other memory,which may include one or more forms of volatile and/or non-volatile,fixed and/or removable memory, such as read-only memory (ROM),electronic programmable read-only memory (EPROM), random access memory(RAM), erasable electronic programmable read-only memory (EEPROM),and/or other hard drives, flash memory, MicroSD cards, and others.According to embodiments, the database 168 may store various types ofdata received from the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162 via thenetwork(s) 164. Further, in embodiments, the database 168 may storeadditional information received from the server 166 or from one or moreadditional servers (not shown in FIG. 1C).

In a particular implementation, one or more of the electronic devices156, 158, 160, 162 associated with the vehicles 152 and 154 mayaccumulate or record vehicle dynamics data during operation of thevehicles 152 and 154, and transmit the vehicle dynamics data, via thenetwork(s) 164, to the server(s) 166 for storage on the database 168.The vehicle dynamics data may indicate, among other data, respectivelocations of the vehicles 152 and 154 (i.e., the locations of thevehicles 152 and 154 when the vehicle dynamics data was accumulated orrecorded).

FIG. 2 depicts a signal diagram 200 associated with facilitating certainfunctionalities of the systems and methods. The signal diagram 200includes image sensors 202, an electronic device 204, vehicle dynamicssensors 206, and at least one server 208. According to embodiments, theelectronic device 204 may be located within a vehicle. Further, theelectronic device 204 may be equipped with or configured to communicatewith the image sensors 202 and the vehicle dynamics sensors 206.Additionally, the electronic device 204 may be configured to communicatewith the at least one server 208. It should be appreciated thatadditional or alternative components and devices are envisioned.

The signal diagram 200 may begin when the electronic device 204optionally requests (210) image data from the image sensors 202.According to embodiments, the electronic device 204 may automaticallyrequest the image data periodically (e.g., once every ten seconds, onceevery minute, once every hour), or a user of the electronic device 204may cause the electronic device 204 to request the image data. Further,the request may include a specified amount of image data and/or aspecific time component (e.g., real-time image(s), real-time video,image(s) and/or video recorded five minutes ago). It should beappreciated that the image sensors 202 may be internal to or externalfrom the electronic device 204.

The image sensors 202 may capture (212) image data and send (214) theimage data to the electronic device 204. In one implementation, theimage sensors 202 may automatically send the image data to theelectronic device 204 in real-time or near real-time as the imagesensors 202 capture the image data, and/or in response to a request fromthe electronic device 204. In another implementation, the image sensors202 may send previously-captured image data to the electronic device204, such as if the image sensors 202 interface with some type of memoryor storage. It should be appreciated that the image data may depict avehicle operator.

The electronic device 204 may analyze (216) the image data. It should beappreciated that in analyzing the image data, the electronic device 204may use or employ any type of image analysis technique. For example, theelectronic device 204 may access, from local memory or from an externalsource (e.g., a remote server), a set of baseline image data that maydepict general movements, gestures, vehicle operators, and the like. Theelectronic device 204 may analyze the captured image data in combinationwith the set of baseline image data to identify the operator depicted inthe image data as well as a set of movements, positions, or changescarried out, undertaken, or performed by the operator (generally, anoperator behavior. For example, the electronic device 204 may determine,by analyzing the image data, movements, positions, or changes in theoperator's face, head, hands or any other part of the operator. Theidentification of an operator behavior may be based on the movements,positions, or changes determined by the electronic device 204. Certainmovements, positions, or changes, or combinations of movements,positions, or changes, may indicate certain operator behaviors. Forexample, the turning upwards of the corners of an operator's mouth mayindicate the operator behavior of smiling, and the movement of anoperator's head from side to side may indicate the operator behavior ofshaking the head. As another example, an opening of the operator'smouth, combined with the movement of the operator's hands, may indicatethe operator behavior of yelling. Based on the analysis of (216), theelectronic device 204 may determine (218) if an operator behavior isidentified. If no operator behavior is identified (“NO”), processing mayrepeat, end, or proceed to another functionality. If an operatorbehavior is identified (“YES”), processing may proceed to the followingsteps.

The electronic device 204 may optionally request (220) vehicle dynamicsdata from the vehicle dynamics sensors 206. According to embodiments,the electronic device 204 may automatically request the vehicle dynamicsdata periodically (e.g., once every ten seconds, once every minute, onceevery hour), or a user of the electronic device 204 may cause theelectronic device 204 to request the vehicle dynamics data.Additionally, the electronic device 204 may request the vehicle dynamicsdata in response to identifying an operator behavior in (218). Further,the request may include a specified amount of vehicle dynamics data,specific types of vehicle dynamics data, and/or a specific timecomponent (e.g., real-time vehicle dynamics data, and/or vehicledynamics data recorded five minutes ago). Moreover, the electronicdevice 204 may request the vehicle dynamics data before or concurrentwith requesting the image data and/or analyzing the image data. Itshould be appreciated that the vehicle dynamics sensors 206 may beinternal to or external from the electronic device 204. In a particularimplementation, the vehicle dynamics sensors 206 may be incorporatedwithin the vehicle.

The vehicle dynamics sensors 206 may capture (222) vehicle dynamics dataand send (224) the vehicle dynamics data to the electronic device 204 inreal-time or near real-time as the vehicle dynamics sensors 206 capturethe vehicle dynamics data, and/or in response to a request from theelectronic device 204. In another implementation, the vehicle dynamicssensors 206 may send previously-captured vehicle dynamics data to theelectronic device 204, such as if the vehicle dynamics sensors 206interface with some type of memory or storage. The vehicle dynamicssensors 206 may include, but are not limited to, any of the following:clock, accelerometer, location module (e.g., GPS chip), thermometer,seat heater sensor, gyroscope, compass, biometric, ignition sensor,speedometer, torque sensor, throttle position sensor, and/or othersensors, including, e.g., any types of vehicle telematics data sensors.Generally, some of the set of vehicle dynamics sensors 206 may beconfigured to generate vehicle dynamics data associated with operationof the vehicle, where the set of vehicle dynamics data may indicate,e.g., speed, heading, acceleration data, braking data, turning data,and/or other relevant parameters associated with operation of thevehicle.

The electronic device 204 may access (226) stored baseline vehicledynamics data and compare (228) the captured vehicle dynamics data tothe stored baseline vehicle dynamics data. The captured vehicle dynamicsdata may be compared to the stored baseline vehicle dynamics data over aset time interval, such as every minute, every fifteen minutes, or anyother time interval. The stored baseline vehicle dynamics data may beassociated with an operator of the vehicle, and may include variousmetrics such as average driving speed, average acceleration to reachdriving speed, average deceleration to stop, average time spent drivinga particular route, average braking force when stopping the vehicle,average turn radius, average number of honks in a given period of time,or any other vehicle dynamics data and/or vehicle telematics dataassociated with the operator. The stored baseline vehicle dynamics datamay be vehicle dynamics data that has previously been captured by thevehicle dynamics sensors 206, by additional vehicle dynamics sensorscollected by additional vehicles operated by the vehicle operator,and/or a combination thereof. In other embodiments, the stored baselinevehicle dynamics data may have originated from a separate database, ormay be a combination of vehicle dynamics data previously captured by thevehicle dynamics sensors 206 (or other vehicle dynamics sensorsassociated with additional vehicles) and originating from a separatedatabase, and/or may be general baseline data that is not associatedwith the operator of the vehicle.

Based on the comparing of (228), the electronic device 204 may determine(230) whether the captured vehicle dynamics data differs from thebaseline vehicle dynamics data by at least a threshold amount. Thethreshold amount may be set by the user, or may be default or preset.The threshold amount may be a percentage of the value of the capturedvehicle dynamics data parameter, or it might be an absolute value. Forinstance, the threshold amount could be exceeded when a vehicle operatordrives 10% faster than the stored baseline average driving speed, or itmay be exceeded when a vehicle operator drives 10 miles per hour fasterthan the stored baseline average driving speed. The threshold amount maybe different for different data parameters. For example, for drivingspeed the threshold amount may be a 10% difference between captureddriving speed and stored baseline average driving speed, while fordriving acceleration, the threshold amount may be a 5% difference fromcaptured acceleration and stored baseline average acceleration. Invarious embodiments, the threshold may be exceeded only if thedifference is an increase, or it may be exceeded for an increase or adecrease by a threshold amount.

If the electronic device 204 determines that the captured vehicledynamics data does not differ from the baseline stored vehicle dynamicsdata by at least the threshold amount (“NO”), processing may repeat,end, or proceed to other functionality (e.g., to (222)).

If the electronic device 204 determines that the captured vehicledynamics data differs from the baseline stored vehicle dynamics data byat least the threshold amount (“YES”), the electronic device 204 mayfurther determine (232) an inferred emotional state of the vehicleoperator. In particular, the electronic device 204 may determine theinferred emotional state based on the extent to which the capturedvehicle dynamics data differs from the baseline vehicle dynamics dataand/or based on which particular vehicle dynamics data points differfrom their stored baseline values. For example, the electronic device204 may determine that an increase in honking, as compared with storedbaseline vehicle dynamics data, indicates an inferred frustratedemotional state. The inferred emotional state may additionally oralternatively be based on the operator behavior identified (218) by theelectronic device 204. For example, the electronic device 204 maydetermine that an operator behavior of frowning indicates an inferredemotional state of sad, while an operator behavior of yelling indicatesan inferred emotional state of angry or frustrated.

The electronic device 204 may further determine an inferred emotionalstate based on a combination of the operator behavior and thedifferences between stored baseline vehicle dynamics data and capturedvehicle dynamics data. For example, the electronic device 204 maydetermine that an operator behavior of smiling combined with anincreased average speed indicates an inferred emotional state ofexcited, while an operator behavior of frowning combined with anincreased average speed indicates an inferred emotional state of angryor frustrated.

The electronic device 204 may determine, based on the inferred emotionalstate, that the operator may not be in an appropriate emotional statefor driving a vehicle. The extent or duration of the operator behavior,and/or the extent or duration that the vehicle dynamics data differ fromthe baseline vehicle dynamics data, or a combination of the two mayindicate that the operator may not be in an appropriate emotional statefor driving a vehicle. For example, extremely erratic operator behaviormay indicate that the operator may not be in an appropriate emotionalstate. An operator behavior with a long duration, such as crying for along time, for example, may also indicate that the operator may not bein an appropriate emotional state. Greatly increased average speed, suchas a 50% increase in average speed over baseline, for instance, may alsoindicate that the operator may not be in an appropriate emotional state.Increased average speed for a long period of time, for example, may alsoindicate that the operator may not be in an appropriate emotional state.A combination of an operator behavior of frowning for a long time and agreatly increased average number of honks, for instance, may alsoindicate that an operator may not be in an appropriate emotional state.

The electronic device 204 may generate (234) a recommendation to theoperator, and may communicate the recommendation to the operator, wherethe recommendation may be reflective of the inferred emotional stateand/or may indicate a suggested action to perform or undertake. Forexample, in response to an operator's inferred emotional state of angeror frustration, the recommendation may be that the operator pull overand do a relaxation exercise, while in response to an emotional state ofsadness, the recommendation may be that the operator listen to upbeatmusic using the vehicle's audio system. The electronic device 204 mayalso take other action(s) based on the inferred emotional state.

The electronic device 204 may further generate (236) a log of theinferred emotional state and/or other information associated with theanalyses discussed herein. The log may include a timestamp correspondingto the time when the captured vehicle dynamics and/or image dataindicating an inferred emotional state was recorded. The log may includeinformation including the extent to which the vehicle dynamics datadiffers from the stored baseline vehicle dynamics data, and/or includingwhich particular vehicle dynamics data parameters differ from theircorresponding baseline values. The log may also include informationincluding any identification of operator behavior, including themovements or changes associated with the operator upon which theidentification was based, and/or information associated with thegenerated recommendations.

The electronic device 204 may further transmit (238) the log to theserver 208. The log may be transmitted via a network connection. In someembodiments, the log may be transmitted via a wired connection. Theserver 208 may store (240) the log for later access or review by users,administrators, and/or electronic devices.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate interfaces including example notifications.An electronic device (e.g., a mobile device, such as a smartphone) maybe configured to display the interfaces and/or receive selections andinputs via the interfaces, where the electronic device may be associatedwith an operator of a vehicle, or may be integrated into the vehicle.For example, a dedicated application that is configured to operate onthe electronic device may display the interfaces. It should beappreciated that the interfaces are merely examples and that alternativeor additional content is envisioned.

FIG. 3A illustrates an interface 302 that includes a notice indicatingthat an inferred emotional state of frustrated has been detected. Theinterface 302 further indicates a generated recommendation for theoperator, namely to exercise caution and consider using a relaxationtechnique. The interface 302 includes an “OK” selection 304 that enablesthe vehicle operator to dismiss the interface 302.

FIG. 3B illustrates an interface 306 that includes a notice indicatingthat an inferred emotional state of happy has been detected. Theinterface 306 further indicates a generated recommendation for theassociated vehicle operator, namely to keep up the good work andcontinue to drive safely. The interface 306 includes an “OK” selection308 that enables the vehicle operator to dismiss the interface 306.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary method 400 of assessingan emotional state of an operator of a vehicle. The method 400 may befacilitated by an electronic device such as electronic devices 110, 115,156, 156, 160, 162, as discussed with respect to FIG. 1A-1C, or theelectronic device 204 as discussed with respect to FIG. 2. Theelectronic device may support execution of a dedicated application thatmay facilitate the functionalities of the method 400. Further, theelectronic device may enable the user to make various selections andfacilitate various functionalities.

The method may begin when the electronic device accesses (block 402)image data depicting the operator of the vehicle. In embodiments, theelectronic device may access the image data from a set of image sensorsduring operation of the vehicle by the operator. The electronic devicemay analyze (block 404) the image data to identify an operator behaviorthat may be depicted in the image data. According to embodiments, theelectronic device may analyze the image data to identify the operatordepicted in the image data as well as a set of movements, positions, orchanges carried out, undertaken, or performed by the operator. Forexample, the electronic device may determine, by analyzing the images,movements, positions, or changes in the operator's face, head, hands orany other part of the operator. The identification of an operatorbehavior may be based on the movements, positions, or changes determinedby the electronic device. Certain movements, positions, or changes, orcombinations of sets of movements, positions, or changes, may indicatecertain operator behaviors. If no operator behavior is identified (block406, “NO”), processing may repeat, end, or proceed to anotherfunctionality. If an operator behavior is identified (block 406, “YES”),processing may proceed to block 408.

At block 408, the electronic device may access (block 408) vehicledynamics data associated with the operation of the vehicle. The vehicledynamics data may originate from vehicle dynamics sensors. Theelectronic device may access (block 410) stored baseline vehicledynamics data associated with the operation of the vehicle, and inparticular with operation of the vehicle by the vehicle operator. Inembodiments, the electronic device may locally access the storedbaseline vehicle dynamics data or may access the stored baseline vehicledynamics data from a remote server via a network connection.

The electronic device may compare (block 412) the vehicle dynamics datawith the stored baseline vehicle dynamics data. The captured vehicledynamics data may be compared with the stored baseline vehicle dynamicsdata over a set time interval, such as every minute, every fifteenminutes, or any other time interval. If the electronic device determinesthat the captured vehicle dynamics data does not differ from thebaseline stored vehicle dynamics data by at least a threshold amount(block 414, “NO”), processing may repeat, end, or proceed to otherfunctionality. The threshold amount may be set by the user, or may bedefault or preset. The threshold amount may be a percentage of the valueof the captured vehicle dynamics data parameter, or it might be anabsolute value.

If the vehicle dynamics data is different from the stored baselinevehicle dynamics data by at least the threshold amount (block 414, YES),the electronic device may determine (block 416) an inferred emotionalstate of the operator. According to embodiments, the electronic devicemay determine an inferred emotional state based on the extent to whichthe captured vehicle dynamics data differs from the baseline vehicledynamics data and/or based on which particular vehicle dynamics datapoints differ from their stored baseline values. Additionally oralternatively, the electronic device may determine the inferredemotional state based on the identified operator behavior.

Additionally or alternatively, the electronic device may determine theinferred emotional state based on a combination of the operator behaviorand the differences between the stored baseline vehicle dynamics dataand the captured vehicle dynamics data. The electronic device maydetermine, based on the inferred emotional state, that the operator maynot be in an appropriate emotional state for driving a vehicle.

The electronic device may generate (block 418) a recommendation for theoperator based on the determined inferred emotional state. If theelectronic device has determined that the operator may not be in anappropriate emotional state for driving a vehicle, the generatedrecommendation may be cautionary. If the electronic device hasdetermined that the operator is in an appropriate emotional state fordriving a vehicle, the generated recommendation may be encouraging. Therecommendation may be displayed to the operator on a user interface, asshown in and as described with respect to FIG. 3.

The electronic device may generate and transmit (block 420) a log to aserver. According to embodiments, the log may include a set ofinformation associated with any of the analyses and determinations asdescribed herein, and may be transmitted via a wired or wireless networkconnection.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary mobile or other electronicdevice 510 (such as one of the electronic devices 110, 115, 156, 156,160, 162, as discussed with respect to FIG. 1A-1C, or the electronicdevice 204 as discussed with respect to FIG. 2) in which thefunctionalities as discussed herein may be implemented. It should beappreciated that the electronic device 510 may be configured to betransported in a vehicle and/or connect to an on-board vehicle dynamicsplatform of the vehicle, as discussed herein. Further, it should beappreciated that the electronic device 510 may be integrated into anon-board system of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the electronic device510 may also be incorporated in a server, such as the remote server 166as discussed with respect to FIG. 1C.

The electronic device 510 may include a processor 572 as well as amemory 578. The memory 578 may store an operating system 579 capable offacilitating the functionalities as discussed herein as well as a set ofapplications 575 (i.e., machine readable instructions). For example, oneof the set of applications 575 may be an operation assessmentapplication 590 configured to analyze image and vehicle dynamics data,determine emotional state(s), and facilitate notification communication.It should be appreciated that one or more other applications 591 areenvisioned.

The processor 572 may interface with the memory 578 to execute theoperating system 579 and the set of applications 575. According to someembodiments, the memory 578 may also include other data 580 that mayinclude any data (e.g., image profile data, vehicle dynamics data,location data, etc.) related to facilitating the functionalities asdiscussed herein. The memory 578 may include one or more forms ofvolatile and/or non-volatile, fixed and/or removable memory, such asread-only memory (ROM), electronic programmable read-only memory(EPROM), random access memory (RAM), erasable electronic programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), and/or other hard drives, flash memory,MicroSD cards, and others.

The electronic device 510 may further include a communication module 577configured to communicate data via one or more networks 592. Accordingto some embodiments, the communication module 577 may include one ormore transceivers (e.g., WWAN, WLAN, and/or WPAN transceivers)functioning in accordance with IEEE standards, 3GPP standards, or otherstandards, and configured to receive and transmit data via one or moreexternal ports 576. Further, the communication module 577 may include ashort-range network component (e.g., an RFID reader) configured forshort-range network communications. For example, the communicationmodule 577 may receive, via the network 592, image data from a set ofimage sensors. For further example, the communication module 577 maytransmit, via the network 592, generated logs to a remote server.

The electronic device 510 may further include a set of sensors 584. Theprocessor 572 and the set of applications 575 may interface with the setof sensors 584 to retrieve and process the corresponding sensor data.The set of sensors 584 may include at least one of: a location module(e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) chip), image sensor,accelerometer, gyrosensor, force sensor, strain gauge, inclinometer,goniometer, ignition sensor, clock, speedometer, torque sensor, throttleposition sensor, gyroscope, compass, yaw rate sensor, tilt sensor,steering angle sensor, brake sensor, and/or other sensors. The set ofsensors may also be configured to detect various conditions of thevehicle operators, including various biometric information, movements,and/or the like. In one particular implementation, the operationassessment application 590 may use various data from the set of sensors584 to facilitate certain functionalities.

The electronic device 510 may further include a user interface 581configured to present information to a user and/or receive inputs fromthe user. As shown in FIG. 5, the user interface 581 may include adisplay screen 582 and I/O components 583 (e.g., ports, capacitive orresistive touch sensitive input panels, keys, buttons, lights, LEDs,speakers, microphones). According to some embodiments, the user mayaccess the electronic device 510 via the user interface 581 to reviewinformation and/or perform other functions. In some embodiments, theelectronic device 510 may perform the functionalities as discussedherein as part of a “cloud” network or may otherwise communicate withother hardware or software components within the cloud to send,retrieve, or otherwise analyze data.

In general, a computer program product in accordance with an embodimentmay include a computer usable storage medium (e.g., standard randomaccess memory (RAM), an optical disc, a universal serial bus (USB)drive, or the like) having computer-readable program code embodiedtherein, wherein the computer-readable program code may be adapted to beexecuted by the processor 572 (e.g., working in connection with theoperating system 579) to facilitate the functions as described herein.In this regard, the program code may be implemented in any desiredlanguage, and may be implemented as machine code, assembly code, bytecode, interpretable source code or the like (e.g., via C, C++, Java,Actionscript, Objective-C, Javascript, CSS, XML). In some embodiments,the computer program product may be part of a cloud network ofresources.

Although the following text sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legalscope of the invention may be defined by the words of the claims setforth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to beconstrued as exemplary only and does not describe every possibleembodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would beimpractical, if not impossible. One could implement numerous alternateembodiments, using either current technology or technology developedafter the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within thescope of the claims.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, orinstructions. These may constitute either software (e.g., code embodiedon a non-transitory, machine-readable medium) or hardware. In hardware,the routines, etc., are tangible units capable of performing certainoperations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. Inexample embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone,client or server computer system) or one or more hardware modules of acomputer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may beconfigured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) asa hardware module that operates to perform certain operations asdescribed herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that may be permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that may betemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

Hardware modules may provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it may becommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and may operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certain ofthe operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment, or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modulesmay be distributed across a number of geographic locations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment may be included in at leastone embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment.

The terms “insurer,” “insuring party,” and “insurance provider” are usedinterchangeably herein to generally refer to a party or entity (e.g., abusiness or other organizational entity) that provides insuranceproducts, e.g., by offering and issuing insurance policies. Typically,but not necessarily, an insurance provider may be an insurance company.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “may include,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the description. Thisdescription, and the claims that follow, should be read to include oneor at least one and the singular also may include the plural unless itis obvious that it is meant otherwise.

This detailed description is to be construed as examples and does notdescribe every possible embodiment, as describing every possibleembodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. One could implementnumerous alternate embodiments, using either current technology ortechnology developed after the filing date of this application.

What is claimed:
 1. A computer implemented method in an electronicdevice of assessing an emotional state of an operator of a vehicle, themethod comprising: dynamically analyzing, by a processor, image datacaptured by one or more image sensors located within the vehicle, theimage data depicting the operator of the vehicle, to identify a currentbehavior of the operator; comparing, by the processor, vehicle dynamicsdata associated with operation of the vehicle to baseline vehicledynamics data to determine that the vehicle dynamics data differs fromthe baseline vehicle dynamics data; and in response to the comparing,determining, based on both the vehicle dynamics data and the identifiedcurrent behavior of the operator, an inferred current emotional state ofthe operator.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: generating a log indicating the inferred current emotionalstate of the operator; and transmitting, via a network connection, thelog to a server.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining, based on the inferred current emotional state,that the operator is not currently in an appropriate emotional state foroperating the vehicle.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,further comprising: generating a recommendation for the operator, therecommendation based on the inferred current emotional state; andpresenting the recommendation in a user interface of the electronicdevice.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereinanalyzing, by the processor, the image data to identify the currentbehavior of the operator that is depicted in the image data comprises:accessing a set of baseline images depicting a plurality of exemplarymovements, gestures, or positions; comparing, by the processor, theimage data depicting the operator of the vehicle to the baseline imagesto identify a set of movements, gestures, or positions of the operatoras depicted in the image data; and determining the current behavior ofthe operator based on the set of movements, gestures, or positions ofthe operator as depicted in the image data.
 6. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the vehicle dynamics data associated withoperation of the vehicle is captured by one or more vehicle dynamicssensors associated with the vehicle.
 7. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein comparing, by the processor, the vehicle dynamicsdata to the baseline vehicle dynamics data to determine that the vehicledynamics data differs from the baseline vehicle dynamics data comprises:identifying, from the vehicle dynamics data, at least one vehicledynamics data parameter and a vehicle dynamics data value thereof;identifying, from the baseline vehicle dynamics data, a baseline vehicledynamics data value for the at least one vehicle dynamics dataparameter; calculating a difference between the vehicle dynamics datavalue and the baseline vehicle dynamics data value; and determining thatthe difference exceeds a threshold amount.
 8. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 7, wherein calculating the difference between thevehicle dynamics data value and the baseline vehicle dynamics data valuecomprises: calculating a percentage difference between the vehicledynamics data value and the baseline vehicle dynamics data value; andwherein determining that the difference exceeds the threshold amountcomprises determining that the percentage difference exceeds apercentage threshold amount.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim1, wherein determining the inferred current emotional state of theoperator comprises: accessing a database that associates a plurality ofinferred emotional states with a plurality of operator behaviors; anddetermining, from the plurality of inferred emotional states, theinferred emotional state that matches the current behavior of theoperator.
 10. An electronic device configured to assess an emotionalstate of an operator of a vehicle, comprising: a transceiver configuredto communicate data via at least one network connection; a memoryconfigured to store non-transitory computer executable instructions andbaseline vehicle dynamics data; a processor configured to interface withthe transceiver and the memory, and configured to execute thenon-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the processorto: dynamically analyze image data captured by one or more image sensorslocated within the vehicle, the image data depicting the operator of thevehicle, to identify a current behavior of the operator; compare vehicledynamics data associated with operation of the vehicle to baselinevehicle dynamics data to determine that the vehicle dynamics datadiffers from the baseline vehicle dynamics data; and in response to thecomparing, determine, based on both the vehicle dynamics data and theidentified current behavior of the operator, an inferred currentemotional state of the operator.
 11. The electronic device of claim 10,wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processorto: generate a log indicating the inferred current emotional state ofthe operator; and transmit, via the transceiver, the log to a server.12. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the computer executableinstructions further cause the processor to: determine, based on theinferred current emotional state, that the operator is currently not inan appropriate emotional state for operating the vehicle.
 13. Theelectronic device of claim 10, further comprising: a user interface;wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processorto: generate a recommendation for the operator, the recommendation basedon the inferred current emotional state; and cause the user interface topresent the recommendation.
 14. The electronic device of claim 10,wherein the memory further stores a set of baseline images depicting aplurality of exemplary movements, gestures, or positions, and wherein toanalyze the image data to identify the current behavior of the operatorthat is depicted in the image data, the processor is configured to:access the set of baseline images; compare the image data depicting theoperator of the vehicle to the set of baseline images to identify a setof movements, gestures, or positions of the operator as depicted in theimage data; and determine the current behavior of the operator based onthe set of movements, gestures, or positions of the operator as depictedin the image data.
 15. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein thevehicle dynamics data associated with operation of the vehicle iscaptured by one or more vehicle dynamics sensors associated with thevehicle.
 16. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein to comparevehicle dynamics data associated with operation of the vehicle tobaseline vehicle dynamics data to determine that the vehicle dynamicsdata differs from the baseline vehicle dynamics data, the processor isconfigured to: identify, from the vehicle dynamics data, at least onevehicle dynamics data parameter and a vehicle dynamics data valuethereof; identify, from the baseline vehicle dynamics data, a baselinevehicle dynamics data value for the at least one vehicle dynamics dataparameter; calculate a difference between the vehicle dynamics datavalue and the baseline vehicle dynamics data value; and determine thatthe difference exceeds a threshold amount.
 17. The electronic device ofclaim 16, wherein to calculate the difference between the vehicledynamics data value and the baseline vehicle dynamics data value, theprocessor is configured to: calculate a percentage difference betweenthe vehicle dynamics data value and the baseline vehicle dynamics datavalue, and determine that the percentage difference exceeds a percentagethreshold amount.
 18. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein thememory further associates a plurality of inferred emotional states witha plurality of operator behaviors, and wherein to determine the inferredcurrent emotional state of the operator, the processor is configured to:determine, from the plurality of inferred emotional states, the inferredemotional state that matches the current behavior of the operator.
 19. Atangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executableinstructions for assessing an emotional state of an operator of avehicle, that when executed by at least one processor of a computingdevice, cause the computing device to: dynamically analyze image datacaptured by one or more image sensors located within the vehicle, theimage data depicting the operator of the vehicle, to identify a currentbehavior of the operator; compare vehicle dynamics data associated withoperation of the vehicle to baseline vehicle dynamics data to determinethat the vehicle dynamics data differs from the baseline vehicledynamics data; and in response to the comparing, determine, based onboth the vehicle dynamics data and the identified current behavior ofthe operator, an inferred current emotional state of the operator. 20.The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19,wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:determine, based on the inferred current emotional state, that theoperator is not currently in an appropriate emotional state foroperating the vehicle.